A Request to Paruko
by kazikamikaze24
Summary: As Paruko flies over Cho-Tokyo thinking about some of the things a reporter needs to do behind the scenes, she comes across Gao as he leaves Aibo Academy. With the way that Gao is acting, what could he need from her?
Flying above Cho-Tokyo is an individual so important to the city that the citizens of it would be in shambles without her. She is the goddess of Buddyfight reporting. The only person who weighs whose matches are worthy to be shown upon not just her blog or for the Broadcast Club. No, her matches get shown across the city, and possibly across the world as well! She was Paruko Nanana, the best pink haired reporter to grace Cho-Tokyo's presence!

At least, that was what she hoped she was doing with her reporting of course. Picking Buddyfights to provide commentary for is a difficult endeavor. The average person expects for it to be easy to simply pick a match to record, comment on, and move on to the next one. What people do not expect is the difficulty that is involved with being a reporter, managing a blog, and keeping her viewers interested in her content. Due to her content being nothing but Buddyfight-related material, she had to be careful about what she recorded.

Between the different school districts, card shops, Buddy Police matches, and the random challenges that catch her radar, she had plenty of material to potentially use for her blog. From there it becomes difficult to decide on what to record and use exactly. Should she show an intense match that she arrived in the middle of, despite not having the build up of recording the match from the beginning? Would showing a match with a newcomer be good to give them some publicity and gain attention from other newcomers like them, or would it be too boring due to the content being too focused on beginners? Since Buddy Police matches are always featured as live events, they are always popular and can net her plenty of attention, yet dare she risk her life for her viewers? There was also the problem of following the local fighters who are the hot shots the community loves. Everyone knows of Tasuku Ryuenji, her super special boyfriend that is not only the Buddy Police boy wonder, but will one day realize that she is the girl for him!

"Woah!" Paruko moved the flying saucer away from a flock of birds that, had she reacted a moment later, would have bombarded her with their feathers. She stabilized her flight and looked down at her control panel. "Take the wheel Takosuke." As her buddy wrapped his tentacles around the control console and began to pilot the UFO, she continued her thoughts from before.

By following certain fighters, it brought attention to her as a reporter of the community. It would definitely bring her more popularity, but the major players of the game did not do interviews. Rouga Aragami, for example, was an aggressive player of Danger World that many players sought to be like. He is a silent, serious character that did not care for the silliness of his opponents. Taking the swift path to victory, Rouga is an inspiration for not just Danger World users, but for others who take the game seriously.

Some players, such as Tetsuya Kurodake, loved giving interviews whenever he could with his buddy Asmodai. Whether these interviews gave any good quality substance for her to use was always debatable as others, such as Noboru Kodo. He can be considered a good player, sure, but it is due to his card choices that net him popularity. Not many people played the Dragon Knight archetype of Dragon World, which made him special from other Dragon World users. Being unique matters in every career. No matter the job, the better you stand out the more likely to succeed you are.

It was why she focused on giving commentary on the younger stars of Cho-Tokyo instead of reviewing over adult matches. The world already knows of the serious competitors that rule over the teenagers and other adults. No one truly pays attention to the young, rising stars of the future. Rising stars that she, Paruko Nanana would take advantage of to raise her career to the greatest height obtainable. She would rise up to the next level...

Just like Gao Mikado.

Paruko shook her head at the thought of the 'Mighty Sun Fighter' that has taken not just Aibo Academy, but Cho-Tokyo by storm. He started off as a nobody who did not know much about the game of Buddyfight. He knew that it was a game people played, and that monsters from parallel worlds could become 'buddies' aka partners with humans, but not much else. Everything changed for him as he pulled the Buddy Rare card of Drum Bunker Dragon. Gao may have started off as a noob who got lucky against opponents such as Tasuku Ryuenji and Rouga Aragami, but he certainly improved from his boy wonder status. His win of the ABC Cup and Gaen Cup are testaments of his improvement in skill.

 _'His teammates of Balle Du Soleil also have a hand in his growth too.'_ Paruko added as Takosuke lowered the saucer towards the plaza of Aibo Academy. If it was not for Baku being the deck builder and Kuguru Uki being the card analyzer...No, if it was not for the bond those three shared Gao could not have beaten the amazing Kyoya Gaen or his out of this world buddy Azi Dahaka. Gao Mikado kept on moving past her expectations of him. Of everyone around him really. He certainly made her task of being a reporter more difficult than it was before. Gao was nothing but a Buddyfight magnet it seemed. At least a third of the matches she records either had him or someone associated with him fighting for one reason or another.

"Hey Paruko!" She looked up from her control panel to see the source of her current series of thoughts running up to her. With his unique red spikes countering his blue hair flowing with the wind against his blue hat, Paruko could not help but to think of the first time she faced him, Gao Mikado, in a Buddyfight. Though she lost the match for her team, the way he made her feel with one of his signature impact cards certainly left an impression on her. She took note of the sun emblem on his shirt. A symbol that was rapidly becoming popular if her sources were correct.

"Gao! Whats up?" Gao quickly reached her with his head tilted upwards to make eye contact. She felt herself waver in front of those burning, confident eyes of his. _'At least he is not worried about something. If he was then I would have to drop editing my footage to see what was going on with his friends.'_ Gao began scratching the back of his neck, which caught her interest.

There are several tell signs of someone being nervous. As a reporter it was mandatory to learn of these tells in order to either push for more information or to know when someone was hiding something. Not looking someone in the eyes, for example, was a common tell. Out of the many different kinds, scratching behind the neck was common.

 _'So what was he about to ask?'_ She could not help but wonder.

"Hey look," Gao began before taking a deep breath. His eyes, if she could believe it, lit up like a core deck case being engaged. "I need your help Paruko! You're the only one that can help me!"

"Help you with what exactly?" She could not help but to interrupt. It was not every day that someone willingly came up to her to talk. That was most likely due to her being a reporter, and the general stigma of reporters using anything possible to use for a story. So it was much more rare, possibly more than pulling a Buddy Rare, for someone to willingly ask her for assistance. Right as he was about to continue talking he paused. With his eyes shifting to the left, she followed his gaze and noticed that there were still students walking out of the academy. When she noticed that his gaze returned to her, she noticed that he raised his left hand to his cheek as if to muffle his words.

"Could we go some place private?" Some place private? What did Gao have to talk about that was so important that it could not be discussed in public? Well, she did have to work on her footage after all.

"I know of just the place. Takosuke, grab him!"

"Huh?"

"TAKUSUUU!" A small horde of pink tentacles exploded around Paruko to grab Gao. The boy could not avoid the appendages, and were hoisted above her as she grinned at him. As if to counter her expression, she was met with a panicked face.

"Let it rip!" The saucer quickly glided through the air and went towards the gymnasium entrance, which would be unlocked due to the track team doing outdoor drills today. As she weaved through the halls of Aibo Academy a revelation came to mind that shocked her to the core. A revelation that she could take advantage of, but would she want to?

What is Gao wanted to confess his love to her?

The sheer thought nearly made her crash into an abandoned classroom. There were many reasons that people hated reporters. One of the many reasons were due to them taking advantage of those they interview, as well as their resources. They're shark for any type of information. As a reporter, stereotypes like these were common for her to hear about. May it be on her blog or through the forums, negative comments would always find their way to her. These comments sometimes hurt her due to the viciousness in the words used against her. She was just a little girl, yet the things they said were as if they were attacking a monster.

"Ta-Taku!"

She would show them that she could not be so easily scared away from achieving her dream. Their lack of trust in her will be the fuel needed to make herself the best reporter of their era. She would listen to her fans, improve her content, and hopefully use her career as proof of both her quality and determination to enter the big leagues.

"TAKU!"

"Huh?" Paruko noticed that the saucer had not moved in quite some time. With a few quick glances she noticed that they were in front of the Broadcast Club room. Another glance told her that Gao, who was still being held by Takosuke, looked rather uncomfortable being dangled above her.

"Can you...ugh, let me go now?"

"Ah, yeah, we're here!" Paruko jumped out of the saucer, allowing for her buddy to properly lower Gao to the floor. As this occurred she unlocked the door to the club and walked in. Various documents littered the two tables that were pressed against one another with six black folding chairs surrounding them. Though this was a sight she was used to, seeing as it was her own mess after all, she suddenly felt embarrassed by it, and did her best to make it look neat.

"Wow Paruko." The stack of papers she piled in her hands suddenly exploded from her grasp as she focused on Gao's words. Was he about to judge her for the mess? "You certainly must keep yourself busy with all of these papers and. Uh..." Paruko, noticing the papers calmly floating down to the floor, bent to start picking them up. The swift motion made her let go of the remaining papers she had, causing a small flutter of paper to fall to the floor. "Here, let me help." Paruko glanced over to Gao, who was picking up the papers on the other side of the table, and felt a warm sensation spread over her cheeks.

"Thanks Gao." She quickly shook her head and flicked her visor. Now was not the time to lose her composure. Well...more of it at least. She noticed that Takosuke had straightened the rest of the room during her 'distraction', so to speak, which calmed her down immensely. She did not realize up until this moment that she cared for what others may have thought of her as a person instead of as a reporter.

"No problem Paruko. Man though, I can't believe the members of the club left a big mess for you to clean up. That's rude of them." A moment of loneliness flashed in her at Gao's words. Though it was sweet off him, she did not want him to know that she was the person responsible for the mess. Being the only member of the club gave her room to do whatever she wanted to an extent.

"Yeah...I'll tell them to clean after themselves when I see them. Heh heh." Paruko chuckled as she went to sit down at the head of the table. Facing away from Gao would give her a moment to compose herself. "So what do you need Gao?" A sudden 'clap' made her stop and turn around. Gao was bowing to her with his eyes locked on her.

"Please...teach me the way of Hero World!" The world froze around Paruko. The cold, stiff sensation she felt was only countered by the intense warmth that seemed to seep from Gao's body. She could feel his determination slowly pull her back into reality, making her comprehend the situation before her.

"What..." His head lowered to the floor. Had Gao truly bowed to others before?

"With Tasuku going on temporary leave so he can go to Dragon World to train, I want to help relieve the burden from him by trying to become a Buddy Police officer."

"But Gao," Paruko interrupted with a tilt of her head. She tapped her right index finger on her cheek with her eyes looking up at the ceiling. If she remembered correctly any deck could be used by Buddy Police officers. Tasuku darling used Dragon World, and he was their best officer. "As long as they accept you, you can use any world for your duties. Tasuku used Dragon World too after all."

"Yeah, I know that..." Gao shook his head and looked at her, making her take in a breath of air at the intensity within his eyes. What was it about him that surprised people? "But when we had our Buddyfight during the Gaen Cup..." What about the Gaen Cup? "I was blown out of this world by you!" A large blush made itself present on her face at his words. One she could not easily hide away.

"You jest."

"No way Paruko! The way you countered me at every turn during our match. The way you analyzed my moves and nearly defeated me made me realize that I had become predictable to anyone who really knows me. Even if I faced you with one of my other decks you probably had a plan to counter each and every one. So please, Paruko, teach me how to use your world!"

 _'He's serious.'_ Paruko could not stop the gulp that echoed down her throat as she began to process what he told her. Here was a celebrity who wanted her guidance. Her, the great goddess Paruko, lover of Tasuku, was sought after for his wisdom. The act alone would make people stir with excitement, let alone if she hyped her followers with some extra- _'No, I can not betray Gao's trust in me by using him as a tabloid story. He must really care for my opinion for him to ask me for help.'_ "I take it that you want this to be hidden from everyone right?"

"Yeah," Gao replied with a nod. It did not hurt to ask if she could use the information to her benefit. "I do not want for any future criminals to catch word that I am learning to use another world. Plus I think it would be better if people were shocked about me using Hero World with such skill instead of expecting it you know?" Keeping some information hidden until the right moment was something reporters had to know. Anyone in a public relation setting had to know how to keep their mouth shut, otherwise leaked information could ruin months of planning. Leaks caused people to get fired, money to be wasted, and countless other chain reactions that were never good.

"You know what? Sure Gao, I'll teach you how to use Hero World." Gao surprised her yet again by how quickly he moved to catch her in a hug. By the time she registered that she was wrapped by his arms Takosuke was hovering above them with a worried expression on his face.

"Tako-Tako!"

"Thank you Paruko! You're the best. I swear I won't let you down!" Unable to handle the intimacy at the moment, she began to squirm in his grasp.

"You don't need to let me down Gao. Just let me go!" He let her go a second later, allowing for her to cough and try to regain some composure. She was doing more of that than she ever expected within a span of what, ten minutes? She straightened herself out and looked at Gao with a smile. She was about to start teaching him about Hero World and its mechanics, only to realize something that she should have been suspicious of. "Why did you not just ask Baku to help you build a Hero World deck? He is your deck builder after all." Gao shook his head before looking down at his core deck case.

"I want to do this on my own. Baku will not be able to build me a deck forever. There may be times I need to leave class or depart in the middle of the night to take on an emergency call. I need to be able to do this without help. Otherwise I'm limited to how adaptable I can be to any situation, and that can get me in a bind."

"Okay," Paruko nodded. With ease she laid her deck on the table with the flag of her world leading the charge at Gao. She noticed the determination he focused on the many different Hero World cards on the table. Their stats, abilities, size, and other details seemed to catch his eyes as she smiled at him.

Just as he helped raise her career to new heights, she would help him reach a greater height than ever before.

"Welcome to Hero World 101. I'm your host, Paruko Nanana!"

-Author Note-

Hello readers, reviewers, and followers. It has certainly been quite some time has it not? Real life has certainly taken more of my time than I ever wanted. It is because of it that I have not been able to post on here like I originally wanted. Between college, family emergencies, and my lack of a laptop to call my own, writing has taken a huge hit in terms of development. With the revival of one of my oldest laptops I hope to be able to write more often. These next few updates may just be one-shots, but I hope to shake off the rust from my creative writing thought process and get back to my regular stories. With that said, let me give some insight on why I wrote this story.

 _Future Card Buddyfight_ is an anime that has its own card game that I've been getting into over the past month or so. This is mostly due to my primary local tournament store preferring this to be their main game instead of others such as Magic, _Yu-Gi-Oh_ , or _Cardfight! Vanguard_. While I do enjoy the show for how light hearted it is, the quirks of the characters, and other aspects, some things bothered me about the show. One of these things were Gao being easily accepted into the Buddy Police services. It may be a kid show, but I figured that there had to be some qualities that they had to look for before accepting him as a trainee.

Another problem was his use of the Hero World deck. Yes, the show has him going through multiple decks inspired by other worlds due to Drum training in them. That, when combined with the idea of the Buddy Police training Gao and his buddy in Hero World styled combat, makes a decent cover for why he has a deck for that world. To me this did not sit well with me, so I decided to work with an angle of one of the few characters I like in the series.

Paruko Nanana.

One of the classes I took during my college experience was about Public Relations, aka journalists, reporters, and other careers that have people interacting with communities for companies, media outlets, and for hire services. Learning what I did in that class made me appreciate what the Bushiroad company did with allowing for Paruko to be a reporter instead of some simple fangirl or a background character with no importance. They gave the viewers a decent role model for someone who would do anything in her ability to report the scoop to her viewers. It is why I decided to throw in some details about what a reporter may go through in this one-shot instead of making this short and simple with an interaction between her and Gao.

What also sold me on her was that she is not only a user of Hero World, but nearly defeated Gao in a match. If it was not for luck on Gao's part he would have lost the match. The way she reacted to him throughout the first two seasons have grown from being annoyed at his novice status to expecting win after win from him due to his growth as a player of the game. Plus her reaction to being on the opposite end of his impact card was interesting and helped spark this idea of a Gao/Paruko pairing quite some time ago. Anyway, I could have written this with one of the Buddy Police officers teaching him as well, but this gave me an angle of writing this from someone within his own age group.

I might write an extra chapter or two for this story, but I am unsure at the moment. This was developed to be simply some fluff between characters, but that changed as I wrote this. More ideas are flowing at the moment, and that makes things difficult. If I do, it may be set between season 2 and 3 like how I imagined this one-shot to be set between the time skip in seasons 1 and 2. If I do not, then maybe I will write something with Sophia as the main character. I do like her as a character, and I am waiting for the day that the series reveals more about her past. It was thanks to her that I'm giving the card game a shot after all.

So, until next time everyone, stay golden!

Kazikamikaze24


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